Luggage carriers or racks have long been used on outer surfaces of automotive vehicles for carrying many different types of articles which are secured to the carrier in one way or another. However, none are known which include illuminating means, either reflective or direct, as a part of the carrier itself. A search of the prior patents failed to reveal any. Lights on the tops of vehicles are known, such as those on emergency vehicles.
According to the present invention, illuminating means, either direct or reflective, or both, are disposed in the stanchions of the carrier which secure the carrier or a portion of the carrier to the roof. In the preferred form of the invention, electric light bulbs are disposed inside the stanchions, connected to the electrical system of the vehicle and operated by a conventional switch or pedal conveniently located within the vehicle. Transparent windows may be disposed in the inner faces of the stanchions facing inwardly of the carrier so that the entire area of the carrier may be illuminated in the dark. Further, reflective light sources are disposed in the end edges of the stanchions. Thus the entire area of the carrier may be illuminated in the dark not only facilitating the loading and unloading of the carrier but also serving as a signal to oncoming traffic and protecting the user against accidents.
The luggage carrier per se by way of illustration may be like that shown in John A. Bott U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,180, granted July 7, 1976. However, the invention may be used with other known forms of luggage carriers as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Luggage carriers have also been positioned on the rear deck of vehicles, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,658, issued to applicant on July 11, 1978, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,471, issued to applicant on Jan. 8, 1980, or similar constructions. These carriers comprise a series of elongated slat support elements which help reinforce the deck and support loads on that article carrier along with article securing means comprising tie-down elements, stanchion elements, and one or more cross members extending between the stanchion elements.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a carrier disposed on the rear deck of an automobile is integrated with a brake light, taillight, back-up light, or the like to comprise one mechanism to utilize both functions of brake indication and vehicle article carrying.